Exhaust-consuming device for internal-combustion engines



y 4, 1954' e. w. CORNELIUS 2,677,231

EX -C S ING DEVICE INVENTOR. eQ/ge d. Gov/1m W May 4, 1954 e. w.CORNELIUS EXHAUST-CONSUMING DEVICE FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES FiledFeb. 20. 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

feorge 61/. Comm BY W Patented May 4, 1954 EXHAUST-ZCONSUMING DEVICE FORINTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES George W. Cornelius, Balboa, Califassignorof one half to William L. Coop,Los Angeles, and one-fourth toTina Vivian Cornelius,Newport Beach, Balboa, Calif.

Application-February 20, 1950, .SeriaLNo. 145,298

4 Claims.

1 This invention relates to a device for..controllingand consuming theexhaustgases of aninternal combustion engine in order to rendertheminnocuous and invisible.

In many cities and along major highwaysthe exhaust gases of motorvehicles maybe so concentrated that they not only befog the atmospherebut are deleterious to the healthof per .sons breathing them. Thesegases are in part, as iswellknown, carbon monoxide, which underfavorable .conditions may be burned to the harmless gas, carbon dioxide.They also contain ungasified .carbon or. soot particles and various becapable of accommodating themaximum' volume of gases, increased involume by thermal expansion and by admixture of air, Withilittle,

if any, increasein back-pressure, and yet be capable of operatingefficiently under minimal conditions .if .for .no other reason thantomaintain temperature at a'level suitable for a sudden change to greatervolume.

It is anobject of this invention to provide means for burningthecombustible material residual in the exhaustof an internal'combustionmotor .so .as to reduce or even eliminate the noxious contents .of .theexhaust.

.Aiurtherobiect of the invention is to provide a device for the purposestated which .may be easily and economically installedin the "exhaust"lines. of either gasoline-propelled automobiles, or

trucksandbusses having diesel engines.

Still. another object of the invention. is to provideanexhaust-gas-purifying device which may be .installed in series ofunits appropriate to the natureof the vehicle and of the work'tobe'done,

a truck having a well-worn diesel engine, for example, receiving agreater number of units in series than a new automobile.

Yet anotheriobject of'the'invention is to provide a .device for"burning-engine exhaust gases which will reduce-the pulsations in I theexhaust line of the engine*andrnay;therefora'be 'substituted for theordinary motor vehicle mufiier,

being preferably arranged in series.

as performing the functionbf such a .muflier in addition to its ownspecific .function.

.It is .a further object of the invention to provide an'exhaust gasburning-device whichhasa high range of flexibility withrespectto enginespeeds, .so asto be .capable of efficient operation when the engineisidling as well as when'the engine is running at fullloa'd ,or at highspeed.

Broadly describing ,my invention,-I. accomplish the above .objectsby.in'stalling in the exhaust pipe of an internal combustion engine,generally in substitution for theuconventional muffler,.one or .moreunits each .comprising a plurality of Venturi-tubesarrangedin.parallellthrough which the exhaust gases .pass,,a..plur.a1ityof.such.units The Venturi-tubes of .each .unit are arranged to .drawfresh air ,from the atmosphere through appropriate apertures. andconduits .in asubstantially heavymetal casing and todi'scharge intoaeombustion .chamber also enclosed in the casing. Means are provided"for igniting the air-gas mixture in thecombustion .chamber if it isnoted- .ready heated to the point of spontaneous ignition,butthecasingisso constructed as to carry the heat generated in the.combustion chamber to the entering gas andair to bring them to atemperature ,at which combustionmay be automatically .maintained. Thesteady combustion in the combustion chamber, .as contrasted to"explosive combustion in'the engine, and the dampening effectspf theVenturitubes, breaks up the normal exhaust pulsations and renders aseparate.mufilerunnecessary, but the units may also be provided withentry .or discharge chambers equipped with sound-deadening devices.Preferably, .the units .are composed of severable sub-units or casingmembers each representing a stage in the passageof the exhaustgases andthe development .of complete combustion, such as convergent-Venturicasing .members, expanding Nentur-i casing members,and mixing orcombustion chambers,-all arranged to'be bolted together so as to be.readily replaceable and .to

Venturbcombustion units areicombined in 'series;

Figure 2 is a Jtransverse sectionalview taken on the plane of section2--2 of Figure 1, showing an arrangement of the convergent Venturisub-unit or casing member of the first unit;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the plane of section 33of Figure 1, showing an arrangement of the divergent Venturi member ofthe first unit;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the convergent Venturimember of the first unit, taken on the plane of section 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view through the divergent Venturimember of the first unit, taken on the plane of section 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the plane of section E6of Figure 1, showing the combustion chamber terminating the first unitand the beginning of the second unit.

Figures 7 and 8 are transverse sectional views on the planes and 88 ofFigure 1, showing respectively the convergent Venturi and divergentVenturi members of the second unit, being similar to Figures 2 and 3except for the dimensions of the passages shown;

Figure 9 is a schematic view generally representative of a longitudinalsection of Figure 1, and on an enlarged scale, illustrative of thesequence and of representative, though not critical, relativeproportions of the units shown in Figures 2 to 8;

Figure 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modified form of myinvention in which a single Venturi-combustion unit is combined with asound-dampening mixing chamber;

Figure 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of another modification of myinvention, in which Venturi-combustion units of different types arecombined in a series, the first having a large number of relativelysmall Venturi tubes and the second having a smaller number of largertubes; and

Figure 12 is a transverse sectional view on the plane of section |2-|2of Figure 11, illustrative of an arrangement of the above-mentionedsecond Venturi-combustion unit.

Having reference now to the details of the drawings, my improved devicefor consuming exhaust gases may take the form shown generally in Figure1 and in greater detail in Figures 2 or 9 in which Venturi-combustionunits l4 and I5 are combined in series. The unit l4 has an entrancemember l6, usually in the form of an expanding pipe and containing anentrance chamber ll connected by a suitable adapter It to the exhaustpipe IQ of an engine (not shown). A plate or circular block is securedto the entrance member l6 by bolts 2|. The block 20 may be termed aconvergent Venturi sub-unit, as it is perforated by frusto-conical holes22 which are of decreasing diameter in the direction of flow for thegreater part of their length. Secured to the convergent Venturi sub-unit2e, also by the bolts 2| is another block 24, which I term the divergentVenturi sub-unit, as it is perforated by frusto-conical holes 25 whichare of increasing diameter in the direction of flow throughout theirlength. The adjacent faces 26 and 21 of the sub-units 20 and 24 are heldspaced apart by washers 28 carried by the bolts 2| to provide anarrow-air-passage 29 communicating with the atmosphere and with theholes in the sub-units 20 and 24. The holes 22 in the subunit 20preferably attain their least diameter shortly before reaching the face26, and therethe holes 25.

after expand slightly as shown at 30. The holes 25 are aligned with theholes 22 and their entrances in the face 21 are of such size that theirwall surfaces may and do lie in continuation of the frusto-conicalsurface defined by the wall surfaces of the expanding portions 3|) ofthe holes 22. I have found experimentally that very good results may beattained if the conical convergence of the holes 22 is of the order of21, and the conical divergence of the expanding portions 30 and holes 25is about 7, but these values are not to be taken as critical.

The divergent Venturi sub-unit 24 may also contain straight-sided holes3|, paralleling the holes 25 and interspersed among them andconsiderably smaller than the holes 25. These holes 3| will be found tobe advantageous in installation on engines running largely at constantload. A sub-unit member 32, which may be simply a hollow cylinder, isattached to the sub-unit 24 by bolts 33 and its interior cavity 34 formsa combustion chamber into which the holes 25 and 3| admit. The sub-units2B, 24, and 32 are all of heat-conductive material and the attachment ofthe sub-unit 32 to the sub-unit 24 is intimate to permit conduction ofheat generated by combustion in the chamber 34. It will be observed fromFigure 3 that the wall-material of the subunit 24, residual after theholes 25 and 3| have been formed therein, represents a large proportionof the cross-area of the sub-unit and is readily capable of transmittingheat from the combustion chamber 34 to the wall-surfaces of the holes 25and 3| and to the face 21 adjacent the air-passage 29.

Considering the schematic view presented in Figure 9, it will be seenthat the aligned frustoconical holes 22 and 25 form Venturi tubesleading from the entrance chamber I! to the combustion chamber 34. As iswell known, the passage of gas along such Venturi tubes in the directionfrom chamber H to chamber 34 will develop a low-pressure zone at thepoint of greatest contraction, generally called the throat of a Venturitube. The air-passage 29 admits air to the Venturi tubes substantiallyat the low pressure zone or throat, the air being drawn in between andheated by the sub-unit faces 26 and 21. A portion of the air so drawn inmixes with the exhaust gas in the divergent tubes 25; another portion ofthe air entering the air-passage 29 is diverted to the relatively narrowholes 3| if these be present and thence to the combustion chamber 34Where it mixes with the mixture entering from When combustion takesplace in the chamber 34, the walls of the holes 25 and 3| are highlyheated and the gases and air traversing these passages enter thecombustion chamber at temperatures at which the atmospheric oxygen andgaseous hydrocarbons readily unite in combustion.

To assist combustion to be started and maintained in the chamber 34under conditions of low motor load, when both the volume and temperaturof the gas are below average, I preferably mount an electric igniter 36in the wall of the sub-unit 32, the filament of the plug being withinthe chamber 34. The igniter 36 may be operated on steady current,without make-and-break, as steady combustion is desired rather thantimed explosions. The igniter may therefore be of the type known as aglow-plug, or alternatively may be a spark-plug if a more intensiveigniting heat is desired. The igniter will ordinarily be required onlyunder sub-normal engine loadcondiwtionssand:thercu-rrcntthezisniterzmayh acontrol edibyta switchsnoshe. 11 rinsturmresncn- :slve:tormeansrrela edetmt ervolumeioniuelzbeinfed;to thezengine. 'I;he switchmayrioriexamnlbevcontrolleid-:byrtheqposition: fzthe tuelethrottl'orby:thepressare;imthezengmeantalsemamold, randibis;believedrthatesuchzinstallations. lieiyvell within-the'skill; of:automotiveanechanicsamkneed vnotzbe describedgin tdetail. abeingtaccessory rand relational.

In': the -preierredr iornrofgrmy:zinventionzshown inaEie-mf'eshtorhe-Nenturheomhustiomnnit;i4, ;;ahov;e:,describe. ,iisfollowedcbythezsimilanunitalfi, ffQI'qWhiCh .1the--;combnstion :chamberzfiflservestas entrence ch mberr 'ZIherbcltsz33; ho1d aeconver- .r-r n'vienturiisubmnit rand arzdivergentrflenturi -,.S\I:b-:1.mit =42 to:the.eombustiongsubaunit-n-zsiand bolts :4 5"ho1d.:a:combustionxchamberrsub eimitcafifi {1 70" the sub aunit. 4 2. .1 -Frusto :mnicaLmoles '54 i sand 24-3 :the sub-uni.ts -;4,0"- -;.and 1142respectively care :similar tot-he frustosconicalgholes 22;;anda-25iwviththey-exception r that zthey (are -;of :greater acrosssectional-areain:orderaztmaccommodatezthennigi: Anal ;.entering gases send :air:a'dded thereto, 19-1053 1 further expanded by: combustion.- ,;'I1-have:found experimentall :that lzthe increase :inucross-eSsc- 1tiona1areaeither-holes 4' l 311(1443 over thezcorrespending holes :22 :and 22.5,is :preferably of ,the "order-:ofLl to 1. Auxiliaryaireinletgholesbfl.in the subsunitflz maYbebf-Ihe-same. order ofzsize asthe holes'3 kin :the sub ennit-i'z 4, :-to which they correspondingfunction. Washers-sit"! hold z-the subz-units itflrand 1:4 2 spaced:apart ztorprovide :the

:air-passage 248' communicating with .the: zoner-of 20 rparallel because:the

.nnit. 1:111 theiarraneement illustrated-the flanges w 53;.serve';-to,theizenteringrziets z'of: exhaustr fl anchto cause;the-gasgtorentertheiholes.2;in::a

more constantjlow. ;;Ineither:;arrangement. the

fiangeaserve asqinthe ordinarymufiier,--to dampen the enginerpul-sations, but: these'ipulsa-tions taretadditionally'dampened: by theabruptichange in the cross-sectional passage .area-at-thezinterfacebetween the muifier chamber and the :Venturi -l vtubeszrandsbythe:relativelyconstant. sound level developed'by-combustion of theignitedgasesr In consequence, the member I. may be much shorter andsimpler than a conventional mufller, :the entire unit, in fact,occupying no greater space "in the-engine exhaust systemthan ismsually-25 ::but with difieringnumbers-of Venturi tubes inxthe z-two units. Forpurposes of "illustration'lihave shown the 'Venturi-combustion unit It;previously -.;described, in series with a "Venturi-combustion unit 6isimilar in all respects except that it has 330 lesser number'ofVenturi-tubes. A convergent Venturi sub -unit: 62, having *for *exampleseven --fruso-oonicai holes 153, instead of the-thirteen .1101882'2shown in the 'Sllb-lihltTZ 0.: inzFigure '2, 'is secured to thecombustion.:chamber::sub-unit :32

low pressure-of: the Venturi-atubes :which the :holes gs-fiend "feeds toa divergent Venturi "sub-unit r64 .It will generally notrbe necessarywto.installrran electric igniteri in the-combustion; chamberste; of thesub-units, as flame generated .in: the iven- -.turi-com-bustion :unit I4yviil normallyacarryqzinto the Venturi-eombustion unit.al5rinizsuflieient in tensity'togassure ignition.

' In the modification. ofzmyinvention illustrated in Figure 10, asingleiventur-iwombustionunitzds combined withv anentrance chamber.havingsalso the character and function of a mufller to dampen thepulsationsof the engine exhaust. This may be desirable when only 103.18Wenturi-combust-ion unit is us d, .altbouehunder many p rating ZQQII-wwhich will also havesevenfrusto-conicaltholes:65 aligned with the-holes63"to form:seven Venturi tubes. An air gap fis between the sub units .62:-and '5 is providedbywashers 61. The :holesiii,

s40 and of course also the holes "65, will be. consider- .45+124=timesthelike a1'ea-of:the preceding-unit.

The :auxiliary air-holes: 5 8, if present in. less num- Pber than theholes "'3 l, will likewise 'ibezincreased in individual.size-tosprovide' a' like total capacity. :The combustion =ohamber,sub-unit terminatin ditions a single Nenturi-combustion unit is an.50ithBunit 6| 'mayhave-iany-suitablezformvaszthe effective muflier' byitself; when two such units are installed in series, it willbeioundthat-the'substantially steady'combustion #generated inthe firstcombustion chamberiik followed by: passage of the gases and admixed-airthrough thessecond Venturi-combustion unit I 5, dampens thev :enginepulsations to a degree at which they are not objectionable.

To combine a combustion-Venturi unit with a mufiler, a member 5! may beprovided, havinga relatively large interior chamber 52 upon the interiorwall surface of which are a plurality of annular flanges 53. Asillustrated in Figure 10, the member 5! is substituted for the entrancechamber member I5, and is connected to the convergent Venturi sub-unit20 by bolts 54. A combustion chamber unit 55, contracted at its outlet,if desired, to receive an adapter 56, is secured to the sub-unit 24 bybolts 51. However, it is obvisub-units' 46 z-and255 hitherto described.1:.The sequential order of the units it and 'BLmay-be reversed.

:lt is =believed 'thatzthe rmanner of "operation-of .55 my inventionini-bothits preferred and.zmo:di'fied no It will be seen that myinvention possesses the characteristic of great flexibility in themanner of its installation, and is therefore suitable for a wide rangeof operating conditions. Not only are there various possiblecombinations of units (35 in series, but individual sub-units may betransposed, such as substituting the sub-unit 5| for either of thesub-units 96 or in the embodiment of my invention shown in Figure 1.Each installation may therefore be tailored to the particular one thatthe interchangeability of the sub-units To vehicle and engine with whichit is to be used,

will permit the member 5| to be substituted for the unit 55 and to serveas a combustion chamber instead of as an entrance chamber sub-unit.

In that case, a standard entrance chamber subvarying in the size andnumber of Venturi tubes unit 16 may be used at the entrance end of thehaving regard to the age and condition of the engine, and the nature ofthe fuel. Units and sub-units may be stocked, having connecting flangesand bolts of uniform size and design, but

which they form and in the style of their entrance and combustionchambers. Obviously, therefore, the scope of my invention is not to beinterpreted strictly in the light of the examples herein described andillustrated, but should be held inclusive of such arrangements andconstructions as fall within the scope and spirit of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. A gas consuming device for an internal combustion engine comprising;two groups of separable exhaust conducting sections forming a casingmountable in the exhaust pipe of the engine,

each group including a member having a plu rality of parallel elongatedgas passages of decreasing cross-sectional area, a member having aplurality of elongated gas passages of increasing cross-sectional areaalined with the gas passage of said first named member, means spacingsaid members to provide narrow air gap between their adjacent facesextending the entire distance across the members and communieating withthe atmosphere, and a member between the two groups, said member havinga passage therethrough of an area large enough to receive thereinexhaust gases from the passages of said first named group and to form anexhaust gas combustion chamber communicating with the passages of saidsecond section.

2. A gas consuming device for an internal combustion engine comprising;two groups of separable exhaust conducting sections forming a casingmountable in the exhaust pipe of the engine, each group including amember having a plurality of parallel elongated gas passages ofdecreasing cross-sectional area, a member having a plurality ofelongated gas passages of increasing cross-sectional area alined withthe gas passages of said first named member, said second member having aplurality of cylindrical passages therethrough parallel with the otherpassages thereof, means spacing said members apart to provide a narrowair gap between their adjacent faces extending the entire distanceacross the members and communicating with the atmosphere, and a memberbetween the two groups, said member having a passage therethrough of anarea large enough to receive therein exhaust gases from the passages ofsaid first named group and to form an exhaust gas combustion, chambercommunicating with the passages of said second section.

3. A gas consuming device for an internal combustion engine comprising;two groups of separable exhaust conducting sections forming a casingmountable in the exhaust pipe of the engine, each group including amember having a plurality of parallel elongated gas passages ofdecreasing cross-sectional area, a member having a plurality ofelongated gas passages of-increasing cross-sectional area alined withthe gas passages of said first named member, the passages through thesecond member of each group being of greater combined cross-sectionalarea than the passages through the first member, means spacing saidmembers to provide a narrow air gap between their adjacent facesextending the entire distance across the members and communicating withthe atmosphere, and a member between the two groups, said member havinga passage therethrough of an area large enough to receive thereinexhaust gases from the passages of said first named group and to form anexhaust gas combustion chamber communicating with the passages of saidsecond section.

4. A gas consuming device for an internal'combustion engine comprising;two groups of separable exhaust conducting sections forming a casingmountable in the exhaust pipe of the engine, each group including amember having a plurality of parallel elongated gas passages ofdecreasing cross-sectional area, a member having a plurality ofelongated gas passages of increasing cross-sectional area alined withthe gas passages of said first named member, said second member having aplurality of cylindrical passages therethrough parallel with the otherpassages thereof, the passages through the second member of each groupbeing of greater combined cross-sectional area, than the passagesthrough the first member, means spacing said members apart to provide anarrow air gap between their adjacent faces extending the entiredistance across the members and communicating with the atmosphere, and amember between the two References Cited in the file of this patentUNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,005,249 Tietig June 18, 1935FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 512,991 Germany Nov. 22, 1930336,714 Great Britain Oct. 23, 1930 552,142 France Jan. 1'7, 1923607,998 France Apr. 10, 1926

